Defying My Disability (2016)
Defying My Disability follows the life of seven Palestinian young people, showing how they negotiate the challenges posed by disability in an occupied homeland with optimism and strength.
Strictly Amy: Crohn's and Me (2020)
Amy Dowden is a national champion ballroom dancer, and this documentary brings to light the reality to Crohn’s disease and the impact it has on everyday life. Crohn’s disease is still not well researched and there needs to be more research and awareness made on this, especially as it is estimated to globally affect 6 to 8 million people.
Lady Gaga 5ft 2
Lady Gagas documentary film ‘5 Foot 2’ features Gaga’s struggle with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition which Gaga has described as debilitating forcing her to cut the last leg of her 2017 Joanne tour short. Gaga’s transparency around her experience living with a chronic illness is both inspirational and emotionally charged, reflecting her strength and determination as an individual and artist.
Taare Zameen Par
This is one of the most emotional films I've ever seen. It beautifully highlights the silent struggles kids face, and it deeply moved me. It’s a powerful reminder to look beyond a person's challenges and see the unique potential and creativity within them.
Shayed Osoorak (Build your Castles) by Sheikh Imam (1974)
Sheikh Imam is dubbed the creator of the modern Arabic political song. He was born to a poor family in a rural Egyptian village and became blind at only five months old, though he perhaps saw more in his lifetime than many of those with eyesight. Sheikh
Imam started singing at a young age and later started playing the oud, a middle eastern string instrument. After some failed attempts at songwriting, his fate would forever change after he met poet Ahmed Fouad Negm. Together they produced some of the most influential political songs of Egypt until today. In “Shayed Osoorak”, one of his most iconic songs, Sheikh Imam boldly criticises government corruption and the dire conditions of working-class people. After 30 years of his death, Sheikh Imam’s songs remain as relevant as they were when first sung, if not even more so.
Monster by dodie (2019)
Dodie is a singer-song writer in the UK, who suffers from depersonalisation disorder (DPD). DPD is a mental health condition where individuals feel detached from themselves or reality. She has really brought to light the awareness of DPD disorder by being open on her platforms and the impacts this has. I really love dodie’s music and how her songs address big topics.
Alaa El-Nady
Alaa El-Nady has recently gained a lot of attention on social media for his campaigning to make the built environment of Egypt more accessible for disabled people. As Alaa uses a wheelchair himself, he became well-known through visiting different public spaces and creating videos to explain the extreme injustice and hardship that wheelchair users face in accessing ill-designed public spaces. His social media platforms gained a lot of popularity and a lot of the public spaces that he visited have added accessible facilities as a result. Alaa continues to advocate for the rights of disabled people and speak against common misconceptions they face in Egypt and the Arab world.
Harriet Tubman (1822–1913)
Harriet Tubman is a US civil rights activist who was born into slavery and had a brain injury which led to lifelong symptoms like narcolepsy, painful headaches, and seizures for most of her life. Despite this Harriet made a massive influence on gaining civil rights in the USA, through helping lead hundreds of enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad, served as a nurse, scout, and spy for the Union—leading a raid that freed over 700 people—and spent her life fighting for women's rights and caring for the elderly. I simply find Harriet inspirational.
Rosa May Billinghurst
Billinghurst was a disabled activist within the suffragette movement in the early 1900s facing severe discrimination from both the state and from some within the movement itself due to Billingshurst’s use of a wheelchair. Billingshurst politics were shaped by notions of female emancipation, social justice and class struggle taking prominent roles in the 1910 ‘Black Friday’ protests eventually being granted the Hunger Strike Medal for Valour following a stint in Holloway Prison.
Nick Vujicic
His story is truly an inspiration. Watching him live life so fully, despite being born without limbs, shows that limitations are often what we make of them. He's proof that a strong mindset and a positive attitude can help you overcome even the biggest obstacles.